mark poulson

I use a wooden Jorgensen's clamp to hold my swimbait parts while I drill the initial 1/4" holes for my screw eye recesses with a drill press. The wood clamp has two wood jaws and two separate handled screws, so I can adjust it so the jaws aren't parallel. I also use it to hold my tapered PVC bait parts vertically, even though it is only holding the very top part. The wood jaws have enough friction to hold without so much pressure that they dent the PVC. Then I use a dremel with a bit that looks like a porcupine to widen the holes to each side, so they have a V shape with rounded sides. It's only 3/16" in diameter, so I can fit into my 1/4" pilot hole without it grabbing the sides too badly, like used to happen with a drill bit. I ground off the burs that were on the very end of the bit, so it doesn't go any deeper than my initial hole. I got the bit from a local woodworking store years ago, and don't remember what it's called, but it looks like a corn dog with a bunch of spikes sticking out of it. It takes a little time, but once I'd done it a few times, I figured out how much I needed to remove, and it goes much faster now. I just made a two piece glide bait, and I used a band saw to cut slots instead of the rounded V's, because I wanted tighter joints. They show a little more, because I had to bring the slot all the way in to where the V of the bait section meets the face of the lure to get enough depth for the screw eye to move unimpeded, but there is much less vertical movement in the joint. I hope to take it for a test swim today.

For me, that's it. It's really quick, and strong. I can make a bait, paint it, dip it, and fish it the same day. I'm impatient. It's probably best to wait until the next day after you've painted your bait before you dip it in Solarez. But once it's cured in a UV light for three minutes, you can take it out and fish it right away. It's cured! Just be sure to rotate it every 30 seconds, and that the bottom gets hit by the UV light, too, if it's something like a section of a jointed lure. I usually take the cured bait out into the sun and let it hit the bottom for another three minutes, just in case.

I dip my baits in the AC1315, and let them drip back into the jar, with no issues. The stuff doesn't seem to be bothered by either exposure to the air, or by the dripping of material back into it. The sun doesn't seem to bother it, either. I did notice that, when I took my Solarez-dipped baits out into the sun to cure, instead of using my UV fingernail light box, they did seem to fog more. I have no idea why.

If you look on the reply page at the bottom, it has a "more reply options" tab. You can attach a pic with that. I think the "no pics here" rule is so people won't post their bait pics here, instead of the Gallery.

I use the gloss. If I want matte, I'll scrub it with a Scotchbrite pad. As soon as it hits the water, it's gloss/transparent anyway. The matte finish is just for the fishermen, not the fish.

I think I got a contact high from watching it! Hahaha

Fingers crossed!

That does sound time consuming, but the baits came out really nice!

The connection was really loose. That's why he made the 45 degree cuts, so the tip of the rear section was still in the joint and couldn't rotate, even though it was loose.

If I were trying to get that effect, I'd pour the belly, then a clear. Over the top of the clear I'd add Dave's gold pearl powder by sprinkling it on with a salt shaker, and then I'd add the top color. If you have the clear hot enough, the powder should sink in a little, and it will give the clear a yellowish tint, I think. The clear would probably yellow for me on it's own! P.S. That bait looks like a lot of work to duplicate. Good luck.

J., I wanted to make a Pop mold of a PopR-type soft bait, probably 2 1/2", with a light wire hook, like the Gamie you mentioned. I would be throwing it on 17lb mono, so I can throw it into flooded brush, and still get the fish back out. I guess I'll make a P.O.P. mold and try it out. Maybe I'll stir in some bubbles before I pour it. Thanks for your help. Mark

I've never been able to bend hard temper wire well enough to use it for hinges, so, if you are able to, please tell me how you did it.

Guys, thanks for sharing your hard-earned knowledge. As you probably know, my initial design efforts are always to copy a successful lure as closely as I can, and the expand on that, once I've gotten a lure that works. I copied the section lengths from the S waver, and still couldn't get the gliding action, even though I ballasted it to sink horizontally. The freedom of the hinge joint, specifically making both sections sit horizontal in the water, independently, so there is no cocking of the joint, is something I really never consider when I make my jointed gliders. I do weight my one piece gliders so the sink horizontal. It makes perfect sense, now that you said it, that hinge friction would restrict the movement on a glide bait. Doh!! I'm going to take another crack at it, thanks to you guys. Thanks, I think....

The thickness of your top coat has a lot to do with how much the eventual yellowing shows, too.

You two are sick! Hahaha

Water borne urethanes are the top coat that yellows the least. That's why floor finishers use a finish like Bona Traffic on maple floors, and other woods they don't want to yellow. It is a two part material, so I don't use it. I've had good luck dipping lures in Solarez, letting the excess drip back into the black container, and then hanging them in a UV finger nail light box for three minutes, rotating them every 30 seconds. I haven't noticed any "fogging" except on black baits. Maybe it's because I let them hang until they stop dripping, so the finish is thinner that if you brush it on. The thicker the top coat the more any yellowing will show. Lately, I've been using AC1315 concrete sealer, and, so far, it hasn't yellowed at all. It does have UV protectors in it, and the coats are very thin, but really tough.

The poplar I've used in the past is plenty strong to hold screw-in hardware, as long as you use a glue like super glue to strengthen the screw threads by running the screw eye in and them back out, to cut the threads, and then coating the threads with super glue and run it back in. I use the brush on kind, so I have some working time, and the excess kind of locks the shank. The strength of the hinge material needed depends on whether or not you're putting a hook in the tail section, and on how many hinges you're using. And, of course, on what you're fishing for. I've never make a musky or pike lure, so I can't tell you what works for them. My experience with jointed baits is from making bass baits. On the successful rats I've seen, only one hinge is used and both sides of the V joint are cut at a 45 degree angle from the centerline of the bait, to all a really loose joint that still won't be able to rotate and unscrew the hinge hardware. If you're putting a hook in the tail, I would use a .092 sst screw eye, 1' minimum penetration into the wood, with a sst bicycle spoke hinge pin. If not, you can use a .072 sst screw eye, 7/8" long, and a sst bicycle spoke hinge pin. If you decide to use two screw eye hinges in the joint, you can get away with .072 screw eyes, even if you do put a hook in the tail section. It can't rotate and unscrew, but it won't have as much action as a single hinge. How many hinges you use depends on what action you're looking for.

X2

Is there a readily available plastisol, other than the exotic material Keitech uses, that will float a 3/0 hook?